Poland wants EU to ban Nord Stream 2

Poland wants the European Union to ban the construction of a second pipeline to pump Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, alleging it undermines the bloc’s strategic interests and violates competition rules.

Revenue from the new pipeline could end up in Russian state coffers and be spent on arms, Szyma?ski warned.

He also pointed to the risk that a Russian monopoly on gas supplies to the EU could violate the bloc’s competition rules.

“We expect the European Commission to fulfil its responsibilities regarding this matter,” he said.

In June, Russian energy giant Gazprom agreed with its western European partners – Anglo-Dutch Shell, Germany’s E.ON, France’s ENGIE and Austria’s OMV – to build the second gas pipeline to Germany, bypassing conflict-torn Ukraine, but also its EU neighbour Poland.